Between Solo and Trust
by Twilit Lofe
Summary: An idea for a Zelda story. Quite possibly a boring account of Link's life. Title is subject to change, and rating will increase over time.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** _Vina naistri _everyone, it's Twilit Lofe. I can never get anything across well enough but I hope this is barely acceptable.

**Disclaimer:** Zelda belongs to Nintendo, and if I make any other references then you are free to either disregard them or find out where it's from. Any _Hylian_ spoken is Kasuto's conlang but at some point I may switch to Sarinilli's.

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><p>Link woke up before sunrise that morning, which was quite unusual. Typically the sun would be at it's halfway point just when he began to think of opening his eyes. There was no apparent reason why, until Link noticed that he was lying on the floor and a largish rock took up residence on his matt. He didn't know why this happened, but has since learned to ignore the rocks and simply tossed it out the window as usual.<p>

He pulled a green shirt from the left side of the shelves by his matt and put it on with ease. Like all the rest of the shirts he owned, it was much too big, but his old clothes could never fit anymore and these clothes were extremely cheap. Link simply put a belt on his waist and passed it off as a tunic. He put on the same pants he wore yesterday and set about making himself a breakfast.

Link took a roll from a basket and put a kettle on his small stove to heat up some water. He made a mug of something bitter but energizing and drank the whole thing as soon as it was cool enough. He then decided that it was about time he left his stupid house and watched the sunrise. Link put on his old leather boots, tucking in his pants, and went out. He was tempted to slam the door but had to close it gently or risk the door breaking. Just by the way it moved he could tell it was fragile.

Link then realized his mistake and went back indoors to lie on his matt for a while, and maybe get a couple hours more sleep. He lives on the western coastline.

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><p>A few hours later it is Link's normal waking time. Link had indeed fallen asleep again, and this time he was woken up by a medium sized rock on his chest. He rolled over, causing it to fall on the floor, and stood up to throw it out the window. Odd. Two rocks in one day. Link turned around to put on his boots but remembered that he hadn't even taken them off, and grabbed his satchel before heading to work.<p>

"LIIIINK! You're quite late again, I'll never get any of those herbs if you don't arrive in the morning. Head to Legoyolo and pick up everything on that list, and arrive before sunset," croaked the lady carefully watching a cauldron. Link took the long list from the table and read through it before folding it up and putting it in his satchel. He bowed slightly toward the woman and left the potion shop.

Link worked as the assistant in a potion shop, a job that nobody wanted to take. When he was looking for a way to earn money in Ásfrodoat it seemed so convenient and was immediately hired, but he soon found out that the townsfolk considered the job to be cursed. Many potion assistants would disappear, be it on journeys to pick up ingredients or deliver potions, or just working inside the shop. Those who one day went in the shop and never came out were speculated to have been used as potion ingredients themselves. Link simply ignored these rumors, and so far he's been perfectly safe.

Link reached the horse stable near the town gates and checked his wallet to see if he had enough money to rent one. But not today, there wasn't enough to also get all the potion ingredients. He left the stable and continued to the gates.

"Link daia Mëlíkh, potion assistant. Heading to Legoyolo," he said to the guard. The guard opened the gate for him and made a sign to wish him good luck, fist over his heart with the last finger extended. Link noticed that a lot of people tended to do that, even the other travellers on the road between Ásfrodoat and Legoyolo. When he wrote to his parents that he became the potion assistant in Á their reply almost sounded like a goodbye and the signature included the Mëlíkha symbol of wishing luck.

After an hour he made it to the gates of Legoyolo, and repeated to the guard his name and intent. Again with that good luck sign, huh. Link decided to sit down and eat somewhere before buying potion ingredients. He found a place immediately upon walking into the town. Inside it seemed relatively clean, so he sat up at the bar and handed over 10 rupees, asking for some food.

Link was served some sort of cabbage soup. Despite how hot it was, Link ate it quickly and left the restaurant. He knew how long the list was and how time consuming it could be going all over Legoyolo. Link's first stop was a small place down an alley, where he arranged to have various amphibians delivered to the Ásfrodoat potion shop. This took up a good hour, because of how hard it was to communicate with the person there.

_"Ontan katakën?"_

_"Nani, pantan,_ five frogs," Link explained again, holding up the fingers on his hand.

_"Ank.. dono?"_

_"Fornivans_ those _ëk_ the rest _ank_ Ásfrodoat potion shop, got it?"

_"Kono?"_

"Ásfrodoat , deliver it there!" Link was getting frustrated with this person, and simply wrote down his order on a scrap of paper before leaving. The rest of the trip was considerably smoother, if a bit tiring.

There was still some time left before Link had to get back to the shop, and a bit of extra money to spend on some sort of treat. He knew that the potion master would have prepared dinner for the both of them, so not food. Looking around at the shops in the main square, at the people walking by... well almost everyone seemed to be wearing a hat. Why not get one, Link's head suddenly felt bare. There was a stall selling some simple cloth hats.

Link looked at the selection. There were barely any of the normal hats left, just some of the strange looking ones. Nobody bought them, who'd want to look like a crazy fool? But there were a few long hats with pointed ends, and the colors would probably match the shirts Link has. He bought a straw colored hat, a hat that reminded him of autumn, and a green hat that would match the shirt he was currently wearing. Link paid 16 rupees and immediately put on the green hat, neatly folding up the other two and putting it in his satchel.

He walked to the town gate, bags of potion ingredients in his hands and a new hat on his head. He thought about what the potion master would think of his hat, and how he'd show the townsfolk that yes, he's still alive. Link noticed that the guards were talking to each other, and one pointed at him. Really, being potion assistant isn't that bad..

"Sir, we're going to have to arrest you," said the guard who pointed at him earlier, as another guard took the bags away and held Link's hands behind his back.

"W-why, what's going on, what did-"

"We'll explain later. Bring him to the holding cell."

Link was quickly shoved behind bars in the guard station. But why did they arrest him? What did he do wrong? What was going to happen?

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><p>Terrible. It's too slow.<p>

**Hylian: **

Mëlíkh - Link's hometown

Ásfrodoat - his current town

Legoyolo - another nearby town

daia - of, "Link of Melikh"

"Eight frogs?"  
>"No, five, five frogs"<br>"To... where?"  
>"Deliver those and the rest to Asfrodot potion shop, got it?"<br>"What?"  
>"Asfrodot, deliver it there!"<p>

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><p>Please review.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note:** _Vina naistri_, Twilit Lofe again. I hated the previous chapter as much as you did.

**Disclamer:** Zelda belongs to Nintendo, further references belong to their respective owners. _Hylian_ is Kasuto's conlang, may possibly switch to Sarinilli's or create my own.

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><p>What had he done wrong? Why did they arrest him? What was going on? Nothing happened at all! Link was just walking to the gate, on the way back to Ásfrodoat after buying potion ingredients in Legoyolo, when the guards just suddenly decided that he had to be locked up? They said they were going to explain! So when are they going to? This explanation of theirs better be good! Arresting people for no good reason, town gate guards have absolutely no business doing that.<p>

"Sir, calm down and let go of the bars. We will explain soon," said the guard who sat outside the holding cell. Link was unconsciously gripping the bars tightly, his face contorted in an expression of confusion and fury. He pushed himself away from them, still angry, and sat on the bench. Link stared at the table outside of the cell, the guards had taken his purchases and his satchel and searched them. Link was sure that some of them didn't even know why there were searching him.

Minutes ticked by slowly, punctuated briefly when the guard dropped his spear on the floor. Link had no reference for the time but he was sure that it was already nightfall, and his stomach was begging for food. After what seemed like, and probably was, far too long, another guard joined the one standing at the holding cell to bring Link out together.

"We were slightly mistaken when we were told to look for you. As it turned out, you were to be escorted to Hyrule Castle tomorrow morning. We will be escorting you there," the new guard said. The first guard unlocked the door and gave Link directions to a nearby inn where he could spend the night. Link was still angry, that they had misunderstood their orders and arrested him, but also curious as to why he would be summoned to Hyrule Castle.

The next morning, Link woke up with the sun in his face. Sunlight flooded through the window and shone on the head of the bed. Yet another occasion on which Link wakes up properly in the morning, but the hour at which he slept the night previously was late. Irritable and confused, he got up and checked his satchel before leaving the inn. Sure enough, a small party of guards was waiting outside.

"Are you ready to go, sir? You will be riding on that horse," one of the guards at the front said.

"...I-I haven't eaten anything," Link stuttered, upon the realization of just how hungry he was.

"It's already late, we'll never make it to Hyrule Castle by tonight if you delay us any longer!" said another guard. "Get on the horse, you'll have the chance to eat later."

Link grumbled and got on the horse, wondering how much later they meant, and also if he would get any chance to write to his parents about being summoned to Hyrule Castle. He was also bothered by how much security there was, four guards in total escorting him. Was that really necessary? How important would it be that he makes it to Hyrule Castle safely? One guard should be enough to show the way and protect if necessary, there's no real danger when travelling except for thieves along the main roads.

After a while they stopped in another town, at which point the group decided to have lunch. Link tried not to appear too hungry from not having eaten since arriving in Legoyolo, but ended up eating twice as much as the guards did anyway. He paid for his own food with 25 rupees that he found at the inn, and followed the escorting guards back to the horses to continue the journey. Soon they reached the Hyrule Road, a wide, well paved road that connected Castle Town to other major towns, spanning the whole kingdom. They needed only follow it until it ended at their destination.

It was uneventful, really. If Link had actually known how to get to Hyrule Road from Legoyolo, and if he had enough to rent a horse to bring him there and back, he would've been to Hyrule Castle on his own. But instead, they had to send a message through these stupid guards, who thought that he was supposed to be arrested! Link caught himself being irrationally angry again, and decided to eavesdrop on the escorting guards' conversations.

"..and I never saw her again."

"So?"

"Maybe I'll see her again at Castle Town.."

"You spend too much time thinking about that kind of stuff. I only let you tell that stupid story because there's nothing else to do."

"Up front, do you two have to be that slow?"

"Well I don't know, maybe Slow Is Safe?"

"That slogan is ridiculous, the point of horses is to get places faster."

"I'll have to agree, and nobody's around to shout at us anyway."

"No, we're staying slow."

"So that you can daydream about that woman?"

Link decided to speak up. "You know, I'm still here."

The guards seemed startled, and remained silent for the rest of the trip. They remained slow.

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><p>Upon arriving in Castle Town the group dismounted the horses and continued to the castle on foot, but Link was still surrounded by two guards in front and two behind. It was hard to tell where he was going with them obscuring his view, but the other townsfolk didn't even seem to care. They just stepped out of the way for the party of guards to walk through. As Link was walking though, he noticed that the street they followed was pretty much straight. So being able to see the way didn't even seem important anymore.<p>

The guards made it inside the castle gate with Link, and they finally left. Link found himself to be standing in a rather large courtyard outside of the actual castle, but it felt very much like a garden. He walked around, admiring the state of the lawn, the beautifully manicured bushes, the large shady trees. Suddenly, a person ran at Link out of nowhere and tacklehugged him.

"Oh, I apologize, I didn't think I would knock you over that easily..." said the person, whom Link identified as female. He stood up and looked at who it was that ambushed him. She wore a type of dress that was a bit simple, but it was brightly colored and exceedingly well made, something befitting...

Royalty.

"I-I'm sorry, but are you.. Princess Zelda?"

"How could you tell?" she asked almost instantly.

"Well, I'm at Hyrule Castle, and you seem to be wearing really nice clothes.."

"By that logic, any girl you bump into here could be the princess. I'm just one of the maids!" she retorted accusingly.

Link was taken aback. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"I'm only pulling your leg, I /am/ Princess Zelda!" She hugged Link again. "And going by the green tunic and pointed hat, you're Link."

"How did you.." Link began to ask, but decided just to let the princess hug him. After a moment she let go, and Link started panting, not realizing that he was holding his breath the entire time.

"Haha, well I'll just tell Gissy you've arrived and you'll have a formal meeting. In the meantime, you can keep on enjoying our courtyard," Zelda said as she ran back inside the castle. Link wondered who Gissy was.

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><p>After about ten minutes, Princess Zelda came back to the courtyard and asked Link to follow her inside the castle. Link couldn't help but make himself a mental map of the halls that he walked through. It wasn't long before they entered the throne room, and sitting uncomfortably on one of them was a young woman. She stood up upon seeing Princess Zelda come in with Link.<p>

"So this is the one you're looking for?"

"Gissy, it's definitely him! He's the reincarnation of the hero, and he will save Hyrule too!"

"Save Hyrule from what?" Link said, now extremely worried. Is this why the princess called for him? How do they know they don't have the wrong person? A lot of people would look like the hero from the legends, right? But what's happening in Hyrule that they needed to find him for?

"I assure you, it's nothing. My sister is being superstitious and overreacting."

"I am not overreacting, Gissy!"

"I'm confused, can you please explain this all clearly to me?"

Princess Zelda went to the front of the room and up a couple steps to stand next to the other lady. "Well first, let us introduce ourselves. I've already told you that I'm Princess Zelda, but you can call me Zelly if you like."

"And my name is Princess Zelda as well, older by three years. I would prefer to be referred to as Princess Griselda."

"Gissy, that's such an ugly sounding name! I wish I didn't get in the habit of calling you Gissy..."

Link was now more confused than ever. Two Princess Zeldas? There were TWO!?

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><p>This chapter was full of bad ideas.<p>

**Hylian**

[none]

Please review.


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